The Mining Camp Restaurant, a family-style steakhouse in Apache Junction that burned down in July, plans to rebuild.

“Yes, we are going to reopen. We don’t have a timetable. We don’t have a date,” said Autumn Springan, a restaurant employee. The restaurant’s website had been mum on the subject until recently. 

The restaurant at 6100 E. Mining Camp St. was a total loss, though other buildings on the property were spared in the fire.

MORE: Mining Camp Restaurant in Apache Junction destroyed in fire

Customers on social media had encouraged owner Vinton Fugate, who began as a dishwasher in the restaurant, to reopen.

The restaurant opened in 1961 and was popular with both locals and tourists driving out to the nearby Superstition Mountains.

MORE: Mining Camp restaurant loss sparks memories of its history

The original owner operated a successful rustic restaurant in Minnesota, the Rapid River Logging Camp, which was popular with lumberjacks and summer tourists. The Mining Camp, built with timber harvested near Payson, mimicked the rustic Minnesota restaurant, only it was open year-round.

Fugate went from dishwasher to cook and took on other duties, eventually becoming part owner and then the sole owner.

The menu featured barbecue beef ribs, roast chicken with dressing, oven baked ham, sourdough rolls, raisin bread, baked beans, coleslaw, green beans, and roasted potatoes.

A rustic barn on the property was available for wedding, fundraisers, private parties, corporate meetings and other events.

READ MORE:

After Schnepf Farms fire: ‘You have to put on a smile’

The Phoenix area’s most endangered historic buildings

Historic drive-through liquor store gets demolition reprieve

Brewery to open in historic building in downtown Phoenix

Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/2wXX1gp